American politician, diplomat, and immigrant Madeleine Albright once mused, "The magic of America is that we’re a free and open society with a mixed population." From the English settlers in the Jamestown colony to the Mexican immigrants in Tucson, Arizona, the United States has been a nation of newcomers, with people coming from all parts of the globe. Because all forms of immigration impact the country, immigration policy remains one of the most important and controversial debates in American politics.
As a nation of immigrants, we embrace and incorporate diverse ideas from a global perspective. Notable immigrants to the United States include steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie and Google co-founder, Sergey Brin. Accounting for 15% of our
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For reasons including the spread of disease, the first law designed to ban people from entering the United States was The Page Act of 1875. Using their “naturalization”, Congress prohibited the “landing” of anyone from “China, Japan, or any Oriental country” for a fixed “term of service against their will or for lewd and immoral purposes.”
Unsanitary living conditions, highlighted by Jacob Riis’ photojournal “How the Other Half Lives” reveal another consequence of unrestrained immigration. This was especially prevalent in the 1920s, when immigration was at a record high, and immigrants were forced to live in crowded slums. To counter the high influx of people, the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 was passed, imposing entry quotas based on national origin.
While immigrants inarguably contribute to our diverse society, illegal immigration remains a polarizing issue in our nation, and the process for legal immigration is convoluted. Congress has been debating the issues of the vast number of illegal immigrants entering the country, the length of time it takes to become a citizen, and the divide between the state governments and the national government in regards to